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鹧鸪天(时谪黄州) Before the Walls the Bamboos Extend to the Hills


鹧鸪天(时谪黄州)

原作: 苏轼(字子瞻, 号东坡居士; 11世纪北宋)

英译旧版:戈登.奥赛茵, 闵晓红, 黄海朋(1990)

英译修改:闵晓红(2023)


林断山明竹隐墙,

乱蝉衰草小池塘。

翻空白鸟时时见,

照水红蕖细细香。


村舍外,古城旁,

杖藜徐步转斜阳。

殷勤昨夜三更雨,

又得浮生一日凉。


Before the Walls the Bamboos Extend to the Hills

- to the tune “ Francolin Sky”

written by: Su Shi (11th AC, social name 'Dongpo')

En. trans. by: G. Osing, J. Min & H. Huang (1990)

En. revision by: Julia Min ( Feb. 2023)


Before the walls the bamboos extend to the hills.

In drooping grass by the pool the cicadas still trill.

Flocks of white birds rise to the sky here and there,

Lotus are flushed in water mirror, sweet and subtle.


Walking past the village outside the old town,

My cane moves slowly and the sun’s going down.

How kind and thoughtful was the midnight’s rain,

To make this short life of mine fulfilled, still again.


Appreciation:

This ci was composed at early autumn in 1083. The poet cleanses his senses here with a rich country scene after a rain. The premise is again filled with Taoist implications where an ordinary scene treasures true magic. Sounds familiar? Yeah, Wordsworth and Monet come to mind…


Reference:

Blooming Alone in Winter by Gordon Osing, Julia Min and Huang Haipeng,published by the People's Publication House Henan Province in 1990 (《寒心未肯随春态》戈登.奥赛茵,闵晓红,黄海鹏) (By walls hidden in bamboo I see past groved hills,/And I hear the tiny racket of cicadas in the withered weeds by the pool./Over and over, I see a white bird rising into the sky./Sweet lotus blooms look down to see themselves perfectly.//Walking past the village houses outside an old town,/My cane goes slowly and I turn to the setting sun./How kind and thoughtful was last midnight’s rain/To make my temporary life quite full again.)

2. painting from google;

 




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